Scientists have solved the secret of the handshake
Last reviewed: 20.11.2021
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The history of handshakes goes back to ancient times. Even primitive people had a habit at the meeting to show each other palms, which meant good intentions and the absence of any weapons.
Handshake in the business world has long established itself not only as a way of greeting, but also as an opportunity to make a good impression.
Researchers from the Beckman Institute found that a handshake, preceded by social interaction, is able to establish contact between people and reduce the possible negative impression of a person.
The results of research scientists for the first time give a scientific justification for the importance of handshakes and its significance in social or business interaction. The data obtained can be useful to those who want to make a good impression.
"We found out that the handshake has a beneficial effect on establishing contact between people and has the effect of correcting the negative impression that may come about a person at first sight," says research co-author Florin Dolkos.
Specialists conducted an experiment involving 18 volunteers, both men and women.
They watched the videos, where there was a communication between the guest and the owner of the house. In one of the clips, the host greeted the guest with a handshake, in another - expressed a greeting in a verbal form, without giving a hand. Both situations depicted a business meeting of partners, but the outcome was different - the communication ended either with further interaction of partners in the business sphere, or not.
Participants of the experiment evaluated competence, interest in doing business and reliability on a 6-point scale. The participants scored much higher marks on the video, where the handshake preceded the conversation, regardless of the outcome of the meeting. The strength of the handshake in this case is obvious, it has people to itself, it causes feelings of reliability and trust.
In addition, specialists were able to assess the impression of handshakes with the help of magnetic resonance imaging. It turned out that the brain of observers responds to handshakes in the following way: the area of the brain called the adjacent nucleus is activated when the hand is shaken, and the amygdala of the brain comes to a more active state when the greeting ends, which has a positive effect on doing business. Also, the increased activity of the amygdala is associated with a marked decrease in stress.
Communication with tactile contact helps people mentally form an impression of a person and transform their feelings into the information necessary for further interaction.
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